Genesis 35:1-15 NKJV
35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”
2 And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.
5 And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7 And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.
8 Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.
9 Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. 11 Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. 12 The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” 13 Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. 14 So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. 15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.
After the shameful events of chapter 34, where God’s name was never brought up by Jacob or his sons, God brings Himself back into the picture. He sends the house of Jacob farther south, back to the place where God had first appeared to Jacob in a dream so many years ago, and commands him to build an altar there. After the crimes recently committed by his family, the house of Israel was being given a chance at a new beginning through repentance, restoration, and renewal.
Jacob’s household now includes the women and children of the Hivite men whom Simeon and Levi had slaughtered, so it makes sense that there were “foreign gods,” that is, idol figurines among them which needed to be discarded. Here Jacob comforts them, assuring them that, even though they had suffered loss, they would receive even greater spiritual blessings from the God who had graciously chosen to bless Jacob’s family.
In the course of their journey, Deborah died. Her death caused much grief in Jacob’s family, since she had been there from the beginning of Jacob’s life, to raise not only him but all of his children as well. Her death was another reminder to the family that they were all just passing through this life, and that knowing and worshiping the God who oversees eternity had to be their top priority.
Finally, God appears to Jacob again. When Jacob first came out of Padan Aram, God had appeared to him in the form of a man, with whom Jacob wrestled and refused to give up. Here God repeats the renaming of Jacob (i.e., “deceiver”) to Israel (i.e., “strives with God”). He blesses him and confirms His promise to give him many descendants, who would prosper and who would one day take possession of the land of Canaan. And so Jacob was again restored and renewed in his walk with God.
God repeats this same pattern with us when we stumble. He calls us to repentance. He graciously restores us through the forgiveness of sins. He brings us back to our Baptism, when He first placed His name upon us. He promises earthly help and heavenly joy, and then calls upon us again to follow.
Let us pray: Father, have mercy on us for Jesus’ sake when we stumble. Restore us and renew us by Your Spirit. Amen.